New Delhi, Oct 31: The Supreme Court would next week hear a plea seeking framing of a 'National Yoga Policy' and making 'Yoga' compulsory for students of Class I-VIII across the country.

A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao has agreed to hear on November 7 the PIL that seeks inclusion of Yoga as a compulsory subject in the curriculum on grounds including that its "secular" and right to health was an integral part of right to life.

The plea, filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a lawyer and Delhi BJP spokesperson, has sought a direction to the Ministry of Human Resources Development, NCERT, NCTE and the CBSE to "provide standard textbooks of 'Yoga and Health Education' for students of Class I-VIII keeping in spirit various fundamental rights such as right to life, education and equality.

"'Right to Health' is an integral part of Right to Life under the Article 21. It includes protection, prevention and cure of the health and is a minimum requirement to enable a person to live with human dignity.

"State has a obligation to provide health facilities to all the citizens, especially to children and adolescents. In a Welfare State, it is obligation of the State to ensure the creation and sustaining of conditions congenial to good health," the plea said.

It said that right to health cannot be secured without providing 'Yoga and Health Education' to all children or framing a 'National Yoga Policy' to promote and propagate it.

"There are about 20 crore children, throughout the country, studying in primary and junior classes at the cost of public exchequer. Yoga should be taught to them as a compulsory subject as per National Curriculum Framework 2005, notified under Section 7(6) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009...", it said.

It also sought a direction to the Ministries of Women and Child Development and Social Justice and Empowerment to declare 'First Sunday' of every month as 'Health Day' on the lines of 'Polio Day' to make the people aware about health- hazards and health-hygiene."

The plea also said that a court at California had held that "yoga is secular".

Only in India the healthcare financing is very small when compared to the financing by the other forces rather than the patient himself or herself paying out of pocket. Having 70-75% of the expenses as out-of-pocket, in my opinion, is not a right approach to managing healthcare in a country where the patients tend to sub-optimally purchase healthcare if he/she has to pay out-of-pocket.